Seeking advice from photogs?
Hi! Ill start out by saying i'm a very ametuer and new photographer. I don't know if i can even call myself that lol. Well i purchases my nikon d3200 about 3mo ago. I have totally fallen in love with the art! I eat sleep and dream photography. I've had to teach myself the basics and am starting to understandmore. I've tried to link up with mostly all photographers in my area and they are either very short with me or tell me to find a different hobby basically:/. Which gets me to my first question. How can i fins photography workshops in my area? I'm a single mother and short on cash so it can't be too expenaive! And for my second question. I have recently had a handful of people request work from me and i'm not sure how to go about it. I never expected to earn money for my hobby, but a few people are becoming very persistant with me. I have no idea where to start. I know i don't want to have a smallbusiness. I know i don't want to create a website or blog. I don't even want to watermark my photo's. I think it ruins the picture! Do i need to print up a contract? What should it say? I've founs myself with 3 people waiting for me to get back to them with details about pricing time length and number of pictures. Most people in my area charge $50 for an hour and around 30 photos on a cd. Not many people do prints. I would be interested in having a package for printing. Please help i'm so confused i don't know how i got here!
Added (1). @david pryce. Thanks for answering my questions. I will keep looking for someone to link up with. Imconsidering making a post on craigslist but i don't think i'm comfortable with meeting a stranger through the internet lol. I have repeatedly reffered a woman to other photographers who have more expirience and she says "i don't care i want your pictures." I'm still unsure of what to do… But ill definitely keep studying
First off I would tell the people asking you to do work for them, to find a professional for now. Not to be harsh but you got your camera 3 months ago and you have a long way to go. And a lot more learning to do. For photography workshops I would check with a local community college or community rec center. I would also try in ding a photographer willing to take you under their wing. I'm currently doing that as a photographers assistant, luckily for me the guy I found was more then happy to help me out. It's not unusual to find SOME photographers to be rude or just flat out ignore you but keep your head up and keep shooting. In my area (Toronto Canada) we charge $300 an hour for 100 digital copies. And 50 prints.
I can't add much to Daniel's answer but I'd suggest to find out if there's a photography club in your area. These clubs are loaded with local knowledge.
I'd suggest joining a local photography club in your area - it's a lot easier than struggling to learn online & you can get valuable (meaningful) feedback on your work PLUS learn new techniques.
If you want to contact me via Flickr feel free (I'm female!).
As to selling your work - that puts it on a whole new level. You need to refer people to professionals UNLESS you make it very clear what your skill level is. If you charge for work & for some reason fail to deliver to standard (& it takes time to learn how to shoot under ANY lighting conditions - Auto won't cut it) then you open yourself up to being sued.